High-temperature process heat (HTPH) industries, which are energy-intensive, consume 20% of all fuels and contribute 24% to global GHG emissions. A significant 80% of these industries lack viable alternatives for transitioning towards CO2 neutrality. While renewable energy options exist, they come with challenges. For instance, renewable solutions often need high operating costs, uncertain lifespans, and incompatibility issues, such as using electricity in the iron and steel sector. Hydrogen cost ranges between 1.5 to 5 times that of natural gas for the same energy amount. In a steam system operating at full capacity, fuel expenses dominate, making up 96% of life-cycle costs, while capital and operational expenses contribute just 3% and 1%, respectively. This underscores the central role of energy efficiency in cost considerations.
However, striving for optimal combustion efficiency presents its own set of hurdles. Thermochemical constraints cap efficiencies at 98.5%, and pushing these limits might inadvertently increase emissions. Currently, there's a lack of effective solutions to address this dilemma. Since CO2 emissions are a direct outcome of a chemical process, significant reductions can't be achieved without pioneering new technologies.
High Energy Ray Ceramic (HERC) technology is a patented novel method that uses self-powered vacuum nanoelectronic chips to generate low-temperature plasma from waste heat from chemical reactions and other heat sources.
HERC chips are embedded in the high-temperature combustion chamber, interacting with the flame to release the power of plasma-assisted combustion. This ground-breaking method efficiently turns waste heat into usable energy. In 2022, the HERC prototype achieved an 18% increase in combustion efficiency during industrial validation, possibly revolutionizing the whole combustion sector. Increasing fuel combustion efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions and aids in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. The overall objective of the project is to reach the first industrial installation of HERC chips.
